Would You?
by Majorelle
Summary: AU: May Maple, she came from a respected family. But that soon disappeared when she turned four years old. Now, she lives in a town that hates her guts. And soon, new people begin moving into Maplewood Town. Who are these people? What horrific secrets will she uncover with them? Contest, Ikari, AshxOC, LeafxOC, slight Hoenn, and OCxOC. [Sequel is up!]
1. Prologue

**This Disclaimer is for the entire story, and I will not be repeating it: **

**I do not own Pokémon, Nintendo, or GameFreak, nor will I ever**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

_Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear May, Happy Birthday to you! _

"Now, blow out the candles and make a wish, May!" Tessa yelped in excitement. Dawn nodded while jumping up and down. May smiled and sent out a big wisp of air over the burning wax candles through her lips. Dawn and Tessa clapped, "Do you want your present now?!" They both asked in unison. Tessa and Dawn looked at each other, and then started laughing, May too.

"May, what did you wish for?" Dawn inquired.

"What the heck Dawn? If she tells us it will never come true!" Tessa yelled at her.

May laughed more, "It's okay guys, I'll tell you."

"Okay, well what'd you wish for?" Dawn asked again.

"I wished that my life would become a little bit more different than it is now," May explained. Dawn and Tessa looked really confused, and then Tessa asked, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"What's it supposed to mean? Just that." May said. Both Tessa and Dawn cocked their heads to the side, still not understanding what May meant. *Honk honk!*

"Aw man! My parents are here! Okay, gotta go! Bye guys!" Tessa called out to them running out the door.

"Yeah May, mine are here too. I'll see ya' tomorrow okay?" Dawn said to May while walking away. May waved at them, and after they were gone, let out a huge sigh.

"Time to go to the garden I guess," she started as she put on her shoes. "It's a full moon tonight, right? I bet it's going to be pretty, but since the town's festival is tonight, it might be a little noisy." With having said that, May headed to the one place she loved, the town's rose garden. The festival was always held on May's birthday. Little did May know that the festival was held in celebration of her birthday, but since her family was killed no one bothered to say anything to her. Moreover, she wasn't welcome either. May's birthdays were nice, since she had friends who cared about her, but it never felt like it was whole. Like some things, or some _people_ were always missing. Those people were her family. Every birthday May would imagine, a birthday with her parents, looking at her with smiles on their faces and arms open wide.

* * *

Earlier that day, a certain boy and his family moved into Maplewood town. Since they were new, they were immediately invited to the festival and it's activities. The boy, named Drew, was only 11, and he really could have cared less about such frivolous things. Yet, his parents made his older brother drag him along. While going through the various festivities, Drew lost sight of his brother, and became lost. Obviously bored with the games and the shows they had, he amused himself by venturing around. And that's when he came upon the rose garden.

He walked in and smirked at it's elegance, but then noticed the silhouette of someone sitting on the edge of a cliff, gazing up at the moon. He walked closer and closer, and realized it was a girl. Drew approached her.

"You know, there's a festival perfect for a little girl like you, right over there," he said pointing. May looked at him, and her eyebrows furrowed at his remark, "I'll have you know, I'm 10 years old starting starting today!" May screeched.

"Wow, a decade old. Tell me, you're the great grandchild of what 60 year old person?" he scoffed.

The word grandchild got into May's mind, and reminded her, she's not the great grandchild, or grandchild of anyone for that fact. May's head tilted down, "no one." she replied, making Drew miss what she heard because her head was tilted.

"What?" he asked. "I missed that."

"I said, I'm not the great grandchild, or even grandchild to anyone! I don't have parents!" she yelled with tears going down her cheeks. She was lonely, and would never know the warmth of family in which she craved. Drew became taken aback and, not knowing what to say, walked over and sat down next to her. There was silence for a while, and Drew was a deer in headlights while May sobbed. She eventually calmed down, and with reddened eyes said to Drew, "who are you anyway? I've never seen you before."

"I," Drew began smirking, "am Drew Hayden." He then flicked his forehead bangs and asked May, "and you are?"

May sniffled, and replied, "May Maple."

"Maple?" Drew chuckled sarcastically.

"What's so funny?" May asked.

"Your name is Maple, and the town's name is Maple, too," he explained.

May shrugged it off. She already knew that, the town was created by her family! But she didn't want Drew to know that, and if he found out, he would find out the reason she's an orphan, but too be honest, only May knows what really happened that night, while people kept on telling rumors after it happened.

"Haha, yeah, I noticed," May said laughing uneasily. Drew actually smiled, not smirked, this time. He was happy to see her cheered up, but he had to go. "Well May, see ya' later," Drew replied standing up, and walking away.

"Wait! What do you mean 'see ya later'?" She called out to him, but he kept walking and replied, "it means I'm going to see you again, right?"

May watched as he disappeared in the distance of the festival, and she realized something. Her life became a little bit different than it was then.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

May, Dawn, Tessa, and most recently, Drew, all live in one town: Maplewood.

There was nothing wrong with this town, it was perfectly normal. A little too perfect. Nobody was jobless, everyone made great pay, crimes were barely committed, and food was plenty. You could say it was an oasis, or haven to live in.

That was never so the case for May. Whenever she walked into the streets, people immediately stopped talking and stared at her, whispering things about her. It made May feel self-conscious, but Dawn and Tessa always stood up for her. If Dawn or Tessa saw May feeling uncomfortable by the stares or whispers, they would shout at them, "what's so secretive that you have to whisper it huh?!" It normally shut the people up, and May was grateful for it.

Maplewood was started by May's family, and May's family came together and built Maplewood. Naturally, May's parents were in charge of the town, and when they first started out, May's parents didn't have children. May wasn't born until both of them were in their late 30's, and by that time Maplewood was finally a flourishing successful town. Norman, May's father, was actually a famous self-defense teacher, and when he found May's mother, he decided he wanted to settle down. So he created Maplewood with his wife, and was the mayor. But since he was famous, Maplewood instantly became a populated area.

Very few people were kind towards May. Those people were: Dawn's family, Tessa's family, and the town's mayor, Mr. Birch.

Dawn's family was actually very good friends with May's family before they died. Apparently, May's mother and Dawn's mother grew up together. May and Dawn didn't know that though, the night May's family was killed, May's mother made Dawn's mother promise her something.

Before May's family died, May and Dawn hadn't met each other yet, and they didn't meet each other until they were both 6, two years after the incident with May's family. But Dawn's mother gladly accepted May into their family and as Dawn's friend. That was also a place where May felt safe: Dawn's house. No one in Dawn's family judged May, because they were friends with May's mother. May always knew there was something about Mrs. Berlitz that made her feel more of a connection to her, but she didn't know what it was.

Tessa's family was different towards May. They didn't welcome May with open arms like the Berlitz family did. They were timid, especially when they moved to Maplewood when Tessa was 8, like Dawn and May at that time. The second the Quinn family moved, they were told immediately of the rumors surrounding May. Tessa's parents obviously did not want their child hanging around some like that, as far as they heard. But after meeting May, they gradually warmed up to her, and welcomed her.

After May's family was killed, someone had to take over the town, and manage it. One of the reasons May wasn't sent to a Foster home or orphanage was because Mr. Birch, the town mayor, was against it. He was apparently friends with May's father, and decided he should fill in Norman's spot and become Mayor. Mr. Birch was against May leaving, saying, "the great Norman's only child should at least be allowed to stay in this wonderful town, that he built himself."

Whenever May was in town, she would at least see the mayor once. And when she did, he would small talk her. Mr. Birch also had a son, the same age as her, named Brendan. Brendan really didn't mind May, in fact you could say he was fascinated by her, and actually had a small crush. If Brendan ever saw her in town, he would stare at her, not in the same way as the rest of the town, but in admiration. He admired how she was strong to show her face no matter how much she was talked about. And he had felt this way since he met her, when they were 5.

Brendan wanted to speak to her so badly. He wanted to stand up for her, like her friends did. But he was the mayor's son, that kind of behavior was not allowed. He had no friends either, except for Nick.

After Drew moved into Maplewood, Brendan instantly became jealous. He had seen them on May's birthday in the garden that night. Drew, being Drew, didn't care when he met Brendan at the mayor's office. It was like oil and water when they met. Brendan was trying to be nice and polite, while Drew acted arrogant. They both knew instantly that just by looking in their eyes, they were both after the same person. This stuff was pretty serious for 11 year olds.

Brendan had met May only a few times in the years that they had known about each other, but when they did talk, Brendan would stutter, and May would be confused by the awkwardly constructed sentences that he made come out his mouth.

May's real impression of Brendan was that he was a sweet boy, but she knew he would never be allowed to be friends with her. May didn't want to put anyone in an uncomfortable position, so if other children weren't allowed to talk to her, she wouldn't bother.

But to her surprise, the next day after her birthday, she heard a knock at her door. She opened the door, and on the door step, was a small card. May bent down and picked up the card, opened it, and it said, "Happy Birthday May," and then penned with the initials 'BB' at the bottom. "Who is this from?" May said out loud in curiosity.

* * *

The day after May's birthday, she heard a knock at her door. She opened it and to her surprise a small card was found at her feet. She picked it up and opened it, it said, "Happy Birthday May," and the initials 'BB' were written at the bottom. "Who is this from?" she said surprised and curiously.

Later that day, May headed to school. She pulled Tessa and Dawn aside and said to them, "who the heck is 'BB'?!" Dawn and Tessa stared at the card, with both of their eyes bulging. Tessa quickly snatched the card and shoved it close to her eyes, examining it. "Hmm."

"What? Do you know who it's from Tess?" Dawn anxiously asked, while May held her hands close to her chest, awaiting the answer.

"Yep, no doubt 'bout it," Tessa finally said, both Dawn and May leaned in close to Tessa in anticipation. "This handwriting is by—"

"Who, who!?" Dawn leaned in closer.

"This handwriting is by Brendan Birch," Tessa declared. Dawn's excited face went down, and so did her shoulders. May didn't seem to mind, but then Dawn exclaimed, "Man! I was hoping it was going to be a cute boy!" Dawn stomped her right foot, then Tessa went over to her and whispered something in her ear. Dawn's reaction made her blush as wild as a strawberry, and stomp her foot again protesting, "how could you say that?! He's so cold and harsh! I am not attracted to that in the least!" While Dawn was saying that, a certain lavender-headed boy walked right past her, making Dawn immediately stop speaking.

He had grim expressions, and his eyes were emotionless. "Hey Paul!" Tessa said teasingly, making him turn around to face her.

"What do you want this time, Quinn?" he asked, half annoyed.

"Oh nothing!" Tessa sang. "It's what Dawn wants," she said pulling Dawn over in front of her with her hands on Dawn's shoulders. Dawn looked back and glared at Tessa, while poor May was in the middle of everything.

"Well, what do you want Berlitz?" Her asked her even more annoyed. Paul was a very formal boy, even though he was 11, he called all girls he knew by their last name, no questions asked.

"I-I-I-I," Dawn started stuttering, and Paul grew impatient with her, which ended in him walking away, irritated by her antics.

"Epic fail Dawn, epic," Tessa said congratulating her, and patting her on the back, reminding her that she had just messed up majorly with the boy she had been crushing on forever.

"So, what about you birthday girl? What are you going to do about ol' Brendy?" Tessa asked May while Dawn still had a frown plastered on her face from earlier.

May sighed. "What am I to do? I mean Brendan's sweet…"

* * *

Speak of the devil. While Tessa was talking to May about Brendan, he was walking down the hall when he noticed May at her locker with Dawn and Tessa. Brendan immediately moved aside into a classroom to hide from May, as nervous as he was to see her, and overheard the words "Brendan's sweet," come from May's mouth. A blush instantly found it's way onto Brendan's cheeks, and the his only thoughts were, _'May thinks I'm sweet? No way,' _and _'Did those words really come from her lips?!' _Brendan did a small fist pump and exited the room into the hallway, May wasn't there anymore.

But as he headed out into the hallway, he bumped into no one other than...his competition.

Both Drew and Brendan stopped in front each other, and there was a long silence. Drew's eyes narrowed as he looked into Brendan's to see what was he was thinking, and Brendan's eyes widened with curiosity and looked into Drew's eyes to see what Drew was thinking. It was intense, and it seemed like it was never going to end.

_'Why is May so special to him? He just moved here!' _Brendan thought as he fixed the white hat on the top of his head—in hopes of showing he was a formidable opponent to Drew.

_'What's his deal? So I'm interested in May, I'm sure she's interested in me, since everyone's always interested in me,' _Drew thought, then flicked his hair and smirked in an intimidating manner.

Drew's forehead would drip a drop of sweat and then Brendan's would do the same. It was fierce, and the weight between them felt like it was getting heavier, it was still silent. It _was_ silent, that was until a certain brunette popped her head up.

"What are you guys doing?" May asked.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"What are you guys doing?" May questioned raising a brow, noticing the tension between them in the moment, but that was instantly shattered the second they both laid eyes on May. Both Drew and Brendan exhaled large breaths, and they're shoulders went down in a more relaxed fashion.

Awkward silence came upon them and they were literally standing there in the hallway, looking down at the floor while May's stare focused on Brendan and Drew. They still hadn't answered her. The bell rang, and the last 10 minutes of Lunch were up. They all snapped out when the bell went off and Tessa and Dawn came and found May while she was still with Drew and Brendan.

"Hmmm?" Tessa hummed while looking at them, smirking. "Well, my, my, what is this we have here?"

"This, my dear Tessa, is a moment called an awkward situation, where you don't want any misunderstandings, and it's happening right before our very eyes!" Dawn explained.

"Oh my! I must be very blessed then!" Tessa exclaimed in a voice full of awe and astonishment.

May just looked at them in their little giddy conversation, not understanding what they meant or anything near there. Little May was innocent, and Brendan and Drew caught on to that. But they both had the same thought, how were they going to get out of this conversation? But soon their prayers were answered, two people were walking down the hallway headed straight for the little group, and the two people were pissed.

"Berlitz!" Paul yelled, "Quinn!" Nick screamed. The two antsy and agitated 11-year olds approached them, and both of the pairs of their eyes were engulfed in flames of anger.

"Quinn!" Nick yelled again in her face.

"W-What!?" Tessa yelled back, trying to defend herself from looking into Nick's light blue eyes, which she adored entirely. Nick held up a sheet of paper, and moved it close into Tessa's face, and at the top of the paper it said, 'Class B-2's Top Grade Scores'.

"Oh gosh Nick, calm down!" May shouted before they got into a serious fight again, over something so trivial.

"Shut it Maple! This is between me and her!" He yelled at May.

"What do you want this time Nick!?" Tessa yelled back at him, with her cheeks going red.

"What do I want?! Look at the paper!" He held it up to Tessa's face again, and she looked at the top of the page, which as usual had her name and a 100% next to it. And right under her name was Nick's that also had 100% next to it. "Yeah!? What of it!? It's nothing new!" She argued because she always had the top scores of her class.

"Why am I underneath you!? I am so much smarter! But how come you always end up on top!?" He exasperated, while Tessa pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. "How the hell would I know?! Go complain to the teachers if it tickles your stupid brain so much!"

The argument between Nick and Tessa was attracting a crowd and it was perfect for Drew to sneak away, which he did. And May secretly followed him to wherever he was heading. But Tessa and Nick were so loud one of the students finally went to go get a teacher, and when the teacher came, she yelled, "Stop!" And they did, and were suddenly scared stiff. "It's you two again! Why do you always have to bicker! Come along now, both of your parents are getting calls!"

Tessa's mouth gaped open while Nick shot a glare at the floor. They both knew they were going to get it, big time.

* * *

While Tessa and Nick were fighting, so were Dawn and Paul. "What the heck do you want Paul!?" Dawn screamed in confusion.

"I think you know what I want! I want an explanation! What the heck is this!?" He said raising up his navy blue pencil case, and the letters: D, A, W, and N, had been stamped onto it in big bold pink glittery letters. "Well?!" He yelled at her again. All Dawn could get out was a little 'tee-hee' before his eyes flashed as if he was going to murder her. "TEE-HEE?! THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY BERLITZ?!" Paul yelled in her face again. Dawn was smiling so much. First, because she was getting Paul's attention, and second, because he deserved it.

"You deserved it," She said with a sheepish grin on her face. Paul's eyes widened even more, the 11 year old was seriously chagrined, and felt like he was going to be sent to jail for attempted murder soon. "HOW?! NO ONE DESERVES TO BE PUNISHED WITH THIS CHEESY CRAP!" He hollered, and Dawn actually became offended this time.

"Excuse you! That is cute and stylish!" She screamed and stormed off leaving Paul irritated thoroughly.

Drew walked and May followed behind him, they both had left the whole argument area between Nick, Paul, Dawn and Tessa. Brendan was still at the sight trying to calm down Nick, since he was friends with him, and had no idea what to do about Paul, who looked like he was going to punch a hole in the wall.

* * *

As Drew kept walking May finally caught up to him. "What was all that back there?" She asked Drew.

"I don't know. Why don't you answer that yourself. Your friends are pretty crazy," He replied stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Oh no, no. I mean what was happening between you and Brendan when I popped in and the bell rang. What was going on between you guys?" She questioned curiously.

"I'm no so sure myself," he lied as he closed his eyes. May shrugged it off. "Well anyway," she started while playing with her fingers. "How..Was the festival?" She asked him nervously.

"How would I know, it was downright boring if you asked for my opinion, and why would you ask? Weren't you there too?" He said raising a brow.

"Actually no, I don't go to the festivals because I'm not allowed." She replied solemnly.

"What do you mean you're not allowed to?"

"Because, I went to one when I was really young and all people did was glare at me. Grown-ups, children, even the animals growled at me like I wasn't welcome. After that, Mr. Birch told me to stay away from the festivals every year on my birthday, so I could be safe." May explained, fighting to hold back tears.

"Safe? Safe from what?" Drew asked her, but then May's eyes widened, no had told him a rumor about what happened to her family yet? She was actually hoping someone had, because she wanted someone to tell the whole story of what really happened that horrific night, and May felt like she needed to tell Drew. She didn't know why, but there was something there, and she would tell Drew in a heartbeat if he cared, which he didn't seem to. May had only told one person what happened that night, and it was Dawn, Tessa didn't even know.

"Uhm, safe from just regular people bullying me or something like that?" May lied trying to get off the subject of to keep her safe and family, before she blurted out everything about her family to someone she barely knew. Drew nodded and they parted ways, not before Drew threw her a rose from the garden they were at that on her birthday. She caught it, and blushed the same color of the petals, "What's this for?" She asked him.

"It's a promise that we'll see each other again," He said as he smirked and flicked his bangs.

May, being as dense as she was, didn't understand what the point of that was and said to him, "But I know we'll see each other, we go to the same school now."

Drew subconsciously slapped his palm to his forehead, and thought, _'Can't she take a hint?!'_

* * *

After all the incidents that happened at school between Dawn, Paul, Tessa, Nick, Brendan, Drew, and May, the school was having their annual 'Show and Tell' for all ages, and come on, they were all 11 and 10. But unlike regular schools each class had a specific theme they had to follow. For their class, it was animals, and you were allowed to bring a pet if you wished, but you had to have a parent or guardian attend with you.

Tessa brought her tan Labrador, his name was M&M, and people were allowed to ask questions after she was done showing and telling her dog. Of course, a certain dirty blonde boy raised his hand, the teacher called on him, "Why is his name M&M? M&M's are made out of chocolate, and dogs can't have chocolate, so that was a pretty stupid move for you to do. I still don't understand why you're at the top of the grade list." Nick protested again, and Tessa's eyes shot open while she pursed her lips. She marched straight up to Nick and was about to start yelling in his face, but then the teacher quickly interfered and sent Tessa back to her seat with M&M.

It was Dawn's turn now, and she went up in front of the class. She brought a snow white kitten, about the same color as the white beanie she usually wore. "This is Skittles," She giggled, and took a peek at Paul, who rolled his eyes most likely thinking '_that's so typical of her'_. Nobody asked her why she named her Skittles, they were just hoping that the next person didn't have a pet named after a candy. It was Paul's turn next.

Paul groaned at the sight of the class, and introduced his pet. He motioned towards his Rottweiler, that was as black as the dark, "His name is Death Metal," Paul said. The whole class instantly went silent, except for Dawn, she was trying so hard not to laugh.

Reggie force palmed to his forehead, and whispered to Paul, "Paul, I told you to bring Camille instead of Death Metal!"

"But Camille is a stupid rabbit, who likes those things?" Paul replied, and went back to his seat, satisfied with his presentation.

The class slowly went one by one with the animals, but since May didn't have a parent or guardian, or an animal, she didn't go up. Neither did Brendan or Drew, they didn't have animals either. Nick didn't go up, and Tessa took notice of that, since their seats were right next to each other. She passed Nick a note and they went back and forth.

* * *

_**[Nick's writing] / **__[Tessa's writing]_

_How come you didn't go up or bring your dog? I know you have one._

_**She died.**_

… … … _Sorry…_

_**Why are you sorry? I was waiting for her to die, she was so old.**_

_You cruel jerk!_

_**You know, it was pretty funny, my little sister found her dead at the end of the stairs when she woke up one morning.**_

… … …_. … …._

* * *

Before Nick knew it, after passing that last note to her, Tessa punched him as hard as she could in the arm. He winced and a tear was actually welling up in his left eye.

"You're such a girl." Tessa teased him.

After class, Dawn was crying her eyes out, apparently Skittles ran off and she couldn't find her. Everyone agreed to pair up and go look for her. Dawn gladly paired up with Paul, Tessa and Nick went with each other, and all that was left was Brendan, Drew and May. Since they all promised to go as pairs, it meant that one of the guys would go with May. Drew and Brendan stared at each other, which one of them had the guts to say they were going with May? But they were staring at each other for so long that May walked off and decided that they could go as a pair.

May went and started checking around the forest behind the school, Nick and Tessa checked with the 1st to 4th graders if they had seen a white kitten, and Dawn and Paul were checking everywhere.

"Skittles!" Paul called out. Dawn laughed at hearing Paul say something so cute. "Shut it, we're looking for _your_ stupid cat," Paul growled at her.

"Hey at least I don't name my animal something like Death Metal, tell me Paul, are you Emo?" Dawn scoffed. He glared at her.

* * *

As usual, Drew and Brendan had a beef with each other, and kept a distance 'safe' away from each other while searching, it was just so awkward, so Brendan went straight out with it to Drew.

"I like May, I have liked her since we were 5, what about you?" Brendan asked him raising a curious yet intimidating brow.

"Since 5 huh? That's a really long time, and since I just moved here I could never compete with that." Drew admitted.

"So you'll let me have her?" Brendan said, and both of their eyes shot at the other's, "No, that's why I can't let you have her." Drew stated.

"Fine, but let's settle this fairly, no dirty tricks, deal?" Brendan said extending his hand to Drew.

Drew smirked, removed his hand from his pocket, grabbed Brendan's hand, "Deal," He said shaking with him.

* * *

May was by herself at the back of the school in the forest looking for Skittles. She called out one more time before she saw white. Skittles was stuck up in a tree, so May climbed it, and noticed the tree was so high, and it peeked right into the Mayor's office's window which was open. The Mayor's office was right next to the school. May heard Mr. Birch, and he was talking about her! He was talking about to someone, it was a woman as far as she could tell and they were arguing.

May scooted a little farther on the thin branch Skittles was on to grab her, and heard even more of the conversation.

"I'm sorry, I can't allow it, and I never will." Mr. Birch said in a serious tone.

"Why not!? I promised her mother! And I _intend _to keep it." The woman said in a serious tone, which took the mayor back.

"Why not? I told you, she's not right in the mind. I told you what happened the night Norman and Caroline were killed." He said cleaning his reading glasses. "Besides that girl does fine on her own, and why does this promise matter so much to you?"

"Why?! Caroline was my best friend and… And I'm…" The woman started, but quieted down the second she realized she was about to expose something that was absolutely top secret, and was only known to her, Caroline and Norman.

"You're what?" Mr. Birch asked curiously.

"I'm May's surrogate mother…"

May heard the whole conversation. May had a surrogate mother? Drew, Dawn, and the rest of the group saw May from a distance and ran towards her calling her name, snapping her back into reality, she grabbed the kitten and *SNAP* The tree branch broke…


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"I'm May's surrogate mother…" The woman arguing with Mr. Birch confessed. May heard her, and could not believe her ears. Even though she couldn't see who is was who said it, she still had known what she was talking about. It was impossible, May basically had a second mother, but who? But May knew another thing, the woman's voice was very familiar.

"May!" Dawn called out to her, making May snap back into reality. The whole group was heading towards May, who was in arm's length of the white kitten. As she quickly grabbed Skittles before Mr. Birch and the woman heard her, and the group, the branch snapped like a twig. May was falling downward with the kitten in her arms. She wanted to scream, but if she did it meant that the mayor and the woman would hear her, and know that she was there the entire time. May closed her eyes and prepared herself for a major hurting.

As she was falling she heard Tessa and Dawn gasp, and heard somebody running for her, he was panting, and suddenly May wasn't falling anymore, and was being held in the arms of someone. She slowly opened her eyes, only for them to behold the most happy go-lucky boy she had every seen. He was wearing a cheery grin and had black raven hair.

"W-Who are you?" May asked, astonished that someone was able to catch her. He smiled again, and replied, "I'm Ash Ketchum! I just moved here today with my mom and fraternal twin sister Leaf!"

May was kind of at a loss for words, she'd never hear someone introduce something so personal on first meeting. The rest of the group caught up, and Dawn was the first to ask, "Who the heck are you?" Ash introduced himself again, and Tessa went up to him, "So you've got a sister huh? Where is she?"

"She's inside the school getting her papers filled out, I already got mine done, so I decided to check out the school." Ash explained. Then Nick said, "So do you want to join our group?"

"We are not a group," Drew said walking away, and everyone just watched him leave without saying anything. "Well, do you want to join our seemingly less smaller group?" Tessa asked again.

"Yeah, That'd be awesome!" He exclaimed. Everyone smiled in enjoyment, well, almost everyone.

"Oh great, not another one," Paul groaned, and Dawn went over to him, "Paul, would giving you a hug make it better?" Dawn asked stretching out her arms to him and batting her eyes. Paul glared at her, "Hugs are for weak people," he scowled and walked away.

"Um Guys," May started, "We should get back to the classroom, the lunch period ended." Everyone's eyes widened, and they raced back, only to find a teacher irritated by their tardiness. They all quickly apologized and went back to their seats.

"Alright! Since everyone is here now, I have an announcement to make!" The teacher said clasping her hands together, "As you all know, next year everyone is turning 11 or 12 or 13, and by that time you'll be submitted to the school's high school for recommendation. So that means work hard on your grades if you want to get in!"

Everyone groaned, but May immediately took out her notes and started jotting the information down. May was pretty, and she had some friends, but she wasn't the crunchiest chip in the bag. She had to work hard on her studies, and regularly pulled B-'s and rarely A-'s, even though she's had Tessa help her sometimes.

* * *

Years passed, Ash and his sister Leaf got along in the gang, Paul 'acted' like he hated Dawn's guts, Nick was crazy about his grades and Tessa always being farther ahead, and Drew and Brendan seemed to always keep a medium distance away from each other. While every night, one thing kept May awake: Who was her surrogate mother. They were all 15 now, and starting high school. The thought was hurting so bad, that May finally decided to go back to the garden to clear her mind.

When she arrived there, Drew was there. "Drew?" May asked walking towards him. He turned around, "Hey May," He said to her.

What was Drew doing there? They sat next to each other, looking up at the silver orb that was in the middle of a navy blue sea, that was the sky. There was silence for such a long time, and they both had their hands out stretched behind them, leaning back on them for support. Drew found his right hand sneaking over to May's left hand, and he had his hand on top of hers. May looked at him like 'what the heck dude?' and he smirked. May couldn't believe it, Drew had been here for 4 years now, and she still wondered, did anyone ever tell him about the rumors surrounding her? But most of all, what does he feel towards her? What did May herself feel towards Drew?

Neither of them knew. All they knew was there was this friction of strange feelings between them, and they didn't have the slightest clue about what to do about that. Should they ask each other? They both shook their heads at the thought, what if the other person didn't feel the friction? It was too risky, and it would put them in an awkward situation.

So the entire night, they sat there next to each other, looking up at the moon until 3 am. Drew finally stood up, "Well bye May, my parents are probably worried," He said, threw her a rose, and left. May looked up at the sky, "Parents that are worried huh?" May muttered to herself, she smiled, she was thinking of what it would've been like if she still had her parents, wait, she still does. It's not her real mother, but it is the person who gave birth to her. She would find her surrogate mother no matter what, and she would live the life she imagined having.

The next day was the the first day of high school. Strangely enough, Paul, Dawn, May, Drew, Brendan, Nick, Tessa, Ash, and Leaf, were all in the same class. Their teacher, Ms. Solidad, had an announcement to make to her her new students.

"Hi everyone! Listen up! Because you're all new, the school is holding a dance for the newcomers, and it's called 'Autumn's Couples' Dance'! Yeah sorry for the long name, but the word 'couples' is in it, which means girls ask a guy, or guys ask a girl, your pick!"

Everyone started rustling and whispering around, and then one of the boys in the class yelled, "EW! BUT GIRLS HAVE COOTIES!"

"Well sorry kid, you're not in elementary or middle school anymore," Ms. Solidad scoffed.

Dawn smirking the entire time, was Paul going to ask her?

Paul noticed Dawn was smirking, was she going to ask him?

Tessa started blushing and became insecure, glancing at Nick from time to time, should she ask him?

Nick saw Tessa feeling insecure, was someone going to ask her?

Ash looked at Tessa, noticing she had a bag of gummy worms on her desk, they looked good.

Leaf looked at Nick, why? She didn't know herself.

May, she was studying her notes, making sure she didn't forget to write down anything.

Drew and Brendan, they both were looking at each other, with one thought on both of their minds, _"I'm the one asking May to the dance!"_

* * *

Tessa wants to ask Nick; Nick's wondering if anyone is going to ask Tessa. Dawn wants Paul to ask her; Paul wants Dawn to ask him. Both Brendan and Drew want to ask May; May doesn't really give a crap, and things are about to get so much more complicated with Leaf and Ash around.

The next day at school, the whole group could just feel the animosity that Brendan and Drew were giving off towards each other. And it only made things more awkward because the group was wondering who was going to ask who.

* * *

Dawn was never the kind of girl to go out of her way and wait patiently for Paul to ask her. But she waited anyway. She said hello to Paul in the morning to get his attention, she sat next to him at lunch, she asked him for help on a question or problem during study hall, to which Paul would reply to her, "You only need help because your grades are crap, work on them yourself!"

Paul himself was growing frustrated. He had been waiting all day for Dawn to ask him. Well of course he wasn't going to ask, those kinds of things are overrated for boys like Paul. Dawn asked him if she could walk home to school with him, he agreed. He thought that this was Dawn's way of asking him out to the dance, it was not to his dismay, and he just grew more antsy.

Dawn was also growing antsy. The dance was a week from now, and Paul still hadn't asked her. She couldn't take it anymore and exploded.

"PAUL!" She yelled at him, getting his attention, "How come you haven't asked yet!?"

Paul's eyes shot open, "What do you mean? I should by saying why haven't _you_ asked yet!?"

"Me?! Psh! No way, it's untraditional to have a girl ask a guy!"

Paul groaned frustrated and yelled at her, "Fine! Do you want to go to the dance!?" After he screamed that he just realized what he had said, and a small blush crept onto his cheeks. Dawn smiled proudly and said, "Of course I will Pauly, you didn't even have to ask."

Dawn then left Paul speechless and hurried on home.

* * *

Nick was a bit curious about a certain brunette in the class, and wanted to ask her to the dance. He walked up to her, and said, "Hey Leaf, what do you think about me, you, the dance, next week?"

Leaf looked at him strangely, but she knew that Tessa liked him too, so she turned him down to his dismay. Leaf kept in mind the code 'Sisters Before Misters' even though any of them were not actual sisters.

Nick became down and found himself wandering around the hallway. He had a crush on Leaf since she moved to Maplewood. What was he going to do now?

"Hey Nick," Tessa said with a happy smile. Nick's head went up and he saw Tessa. Tessa motioned him to come over to where she was, which he did. "Why do you look so upset?" She asked him worriedly.

Nick sighed, "It's nothing," Tessa sighed at his dishonesty, and her heart started beating fast and her legs started to shake. She was going to ask Nick to the dance. "N-Nick, do you… want to go to the dance… with me?" She asked him looking at the ground, hoping he hair would cover up her blush.

Nick looked at her very surprised. His long time school rival for best grades basically just surrendered, and asked him to the dance. But since he wasn't going with Leaf, he thought why not? _I mean, it's Tessa where talking about here, it's just a dance, no biggie, _Nick thought as he agreed to going with Tessa, who was ecstatic. She immediately jumped up and raced back to the classroom to tell Dawn, May, and Leaf. May wasn't there but Leaf and Dawn were, so she ran up to them and told them the big news.

"Leaf! Dawn! Guess what just happened!?" Tessa asked them while panting.

"What?" Dawn asked, "I just asked Nick to the dance and he said yes!" Tessa exclaimed so happy she could cry. Leaf remained quiet while Dawn and Tessa jumped up in the air together. The boy she also liked was going with another girl, and not only that, the girl is one of her best friends! Leaf exited the room and went to the bathroom, there she started crying in one of the stalls, and she didn't come out until the bell rang.

* * *

May on the other hand was studying at the roof of the school like crazy. Midterms were coming up and nothing could have been more frustrating. And to make matters worse, two boys were after her.

Brendan had sent her letters asking her while Drew still hadn't asked. But for some reason, May wanted him to ask. But he never did. It wasn't until 6 days before the dance that May thought she was going to go with Brendan, but Drew walked straight up to her after class while she was at her locker, and said, "May Maple, will you go to the Autumn Dance with me next week?"

He handed her a red rose, flicked his hair, and walked away. He wouldn't let May even speak, and as he was walking away, he said to her, "I'll take your silence as a yes, I'll pick you up at 6:00." Dawn was standing right next to May when he did that, and after Drew was gone Dawn said, "Smooooth, May, he's smooth."

After that agonizing and just plain awkward day, May was talking to Ash and Leaf about midterms while on their way out of school. Their mom was there to pick them up, "Bye May!" They both said as they walked towards a dark blue car, that held a woman with black sunglasses and mahogany hair in the driver's seat.

May's eyes widened, the woman looked unbelievably familiar.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

May sadly had to turn Brendan down, since Drew basically forced it onto her to go with him. Now, both Brendan and Leaf have no one to go to the dance with, except… Each other? It just happened on voting of the group. Everyone was going with someone, and Ash couldn't take his sister, no that would be too embarrassing for Leaf. So Ash was a free-lancer and went alone.

'_Dang that boy had swag,' _so many girls thought as Ash was walking down the hallway, unbeknownst to him that every girl thought he had guts to be happy to go alone. But Ash, being Ash, had really no idea what was going on with all the stares he got from girls.

Ms. Solidad pulled him off to the side, to talk to him about something. "Ash," Ms. Solidad began, "You pull regular B+'s to A-'s yet you don't seem to understand what's going on around you!"

Ash's eyes narrowed, he had no idea what she was talking about. And Ms. Solidad force palmed her forehead at his density.

* * *

Now that Leaf had to go with Brendan it was not so fun for her. Brendan just acted super nervous around her, especially when they went to buy Leaf's corsage for the dance. It was demanded for all girls to buy a corsage from the school for it's dance, so that each girl is matching the theme of the dance no matter what they wear. She hated going with Brendan, it just made things worse.

But as Leaf and Brendan approached the counter, the boy selling them for the school was crowded with girls all around him. That infuriated Leaf. She just wanted a stupid flower stuck to a band, and now she had to work for it? She pushed and shoved her way to the counter, leaving Brendan behind.

Once she arrived to the front of the counter, her eyes instantly met with the brunette boy selling them. She glared at him, though remarking that he was cute in her thoughts. She looked at his name tag, "Gary huh?" Leaf said to him. He nodded and sat up straight from his chair. "What kind do you want?" Gary asked her looking at the corsages.

_'Of course,' _Leaf thought, _'Of course they'd get a cute guy to sell the corsages, that way all the girls are all over him.' _

"I get this one," Leaf said pointing to a Cyclamen corsage. Gary nonchalantly picked it up and handed it to her, "Free of charge," He said winking his eye flirtatiously, to which Leaf rolled hers.

Brendan finally got to the front of the counter, panting. "So.. Sorry… Too many.. girls." Brendan replied huffing and puffing.

Leaf shrugged him off and walked away. Gary's eyes kept on Leaf until she was out of his sight.

Dawn, May, Leaf, and Tessa all decided to go separate ways for the dance, even though they were a group. They just felt that each couple needed their alone time. To Leaf's dismay, Tessa was going with Nick. It was agonizing for her, but Tessa had her eyes on Nick since she was 8, so she gets him.

* * *

Four days passed just like that, and before the girls knew it, they were getting for the dance at their houses.

May wore a scarlet dress, that went down to her knees and had red pumps to match it. She walked outside and found Drew waiting for her in a black tux, holding a thornless red rose. May blushed and inwardly smiled to herself, while Drew smirked as he took her hand and led her to his black Corvette, which she was amazed to see.

"Drew, do you really own this?" May asked astonished. Drew smirked and flicked his hair, "No, it's a rental."

* * *

Paul, was not as lucky as Drew. It was the typical 'mother starts crying that her baby is growing up, and wants a photo of them together' thing. But Paul didn't mind, well he did mind, just not all that much. He thought it was worth it to see Dawn the way she looked.

Dawn was wearing a powder blue, spaghetti strapped dress that went down to her knees. And she had white high-heels that gave her the advantage of being the same height as Paul. While Paul, being Paul, wore black dress pants, black dress shoes, a white dress shirt, and a lose purple tie, the same color as his hair.

Dawn and Paul walked to the dance, not by car. Reggie refused to let Paul have the car, because last time Paul drove the car, he tried killing a squirrel in the road.

* * *

Tessa was by herself. She and Nick decided to meet there. She put on her thick strapped teal dress that went to her knees and flowed out the bottom. She also had teal ballet flats. Her hair was curled, as was all the other girls, and wore earrings the same color as the dress.

Meanwhile, Nick was sitting on the porch at his house. He was dressed in black dress pants, and wearing a dark green dress shirt with the two top buttons undone. He looked at his watch, "6:30 huh?" He said out loud. He wasn't going to eave until 6:45 because the dance started at 7:00 and he was a member of the track team, so no worries. He really didn't care about Tessa, he was just more bummed because Leaf rejected him. He sighed and- *CLUNK* his mother hit him upside his head with a metal ladle.

"What are you still doing here boy?! Go to the sweet girl's house and walk her there like a gentleman!" She hollered at him. Nick regained his composure, while rubbing his throbbing head, and replied, "Why?! It's just Tessa after all!"

"Exactly. If you mess up with that girl, Mrs. Quinn will have my neck for it! Now go!" She screamed at him. He begrudgingly stood up and walked away. At 6:45, to Tessa's surprise Nick was at her door. "C'mon, let's go," Nick said motioning her out the door. Actually impressed with how well his scholarly rival cleans up.

* * *

Ash was by himself. 'The Loner' which the boys at the school nicknamed him. He was fine with it. The girl he sort of liked was going with another guy, and he didn't know he liked her until he asked for a gummy worm, and she said, "sure… Just don't eat all of it!" Which he did eat all of them to her infuriation.

Ash was dressed in black dress pants, black dress shoes, and was wearing a navy blue dress shirt with a white tie. He jollily made his way to the dance with a big grin on his face. He apparently was wearing his father's tie.

Brendan was wearing a white tux, minus the white hat he usually wore. His black locks were exposed and as he arrived every girl gasped at the sight of him. He was downright handsome, though, he was only 3rd best-looking compared to Drew and Gary, who was wearing a silky white dress shirt and purple dress pants. The perfect example of a play-boy.

* * *

Leaf put on her strapless magenta dress, that also went down to her knees, and dark green pumps. She put on her Cyclamen corsage and headed out. She was late, it was already 7:12 and she told Brendan not to wait. She thought she would take a short cut and that meant going through people's backyards and trespassing.

Every backyard she went through was like it was a ghost town, and she walked slowly and cautiously. She finally was abruptly stopped when she heard yelling coming from one of houses she was heading through. She cautiously walked toward it, and noticed a black car behind the house. The black car was so nice, so elegant, it couldn't have belonged to the family. She peaked through the window to look through a crack in the blinds and saw a woman on her knees begging. The woman was saying things like "please! Please! Give me more time!" There was a man standing in front of her.

Leaf couldn't see the man because she could only see a tiny bit, and that was the woman. Slowly and steadily, a hand that was the man's raised itself and slapped the woman across the face. "You have one week, you understand?" The man cruelly said to her. The woman started hysterically crying, just happy that the man didn't pull the trigger of the silver pistol he had in his left hand.

Leaf then accidentally tripped on her pump as she was watching. She made a noise when she tripped and looked down at her shoe. She then realized the man's eyes switched over to the window and caught a glimpse of Leaf. Leaf's eyes widened and she started running wildly. She ran, and she ran, until she thought it was safe. She ran more, and finally arrived at the school. Where everyone looked at her in astonishment. She may have been running but she was still in perfect condition.

Gary made his way over to her as everyone watched shocked. Nick swallowed hard, and his jaw was clenched. Brendan didn't care, he was trying to get May's attention.

* * *

Gary made his way over to Leaf, and started slow-dancing with her. Leaf was enjoying herself, but her heart was still beating fast. She felt like someone was watching her. After what happened earlier in the backyard of the that house rattled Leaf's entire night. The only person who noticed her uneasiness was Ash but he brushed it off. He thought she had just seen another ran over squirrel in the road on her way over to the dance.

But then Gary tried kissing Leaf, that's when things got out of hand. When Nick was dancing with Tessa, in his peripheral vision he saw Gary making his move. Nick instantly left Tessa on the dance floor and punched Gary in the jaw. Both Tessa and Leaf were shocked by what was happening right before their very eyes. And soon, someone intervened.

"Cut it out!" May yelled at them, "Go kill each other else where, but not here!"

Nick's head went down, and Gary cupped his jaw with his hand. Immediately, one of Gary's fan girls brought him ice. Leaf walked away, disappointed with how they acted.

* * *

After May exploded at them, Drew grabbed her by the arm and took her away from the crowd. "W-Where are we going Drew?" May asked him as he pulled her by the forearm.

"We're going away from the crowd. It's annoying being around so many people," He replied. They came across a gazebo with roses growing around the sides. It had no lighting but it was suitable.

They started slow-dancing and May was blushing the entire time. She had never been alone with a boy before, let alone dance with one. Drew smirked, the 15 year olds did get their alone time. It was sweet and resplendent. They both wanted it to last forever. It soon came to their bodies inching closer and closer, and May finally wrapped her arms around Drew, and rested her head on his shoulder. It was peaceful, and May didn't want to leave his arms, that were around her. May finally raised her head to tell Drew something.

"Drew, I think I love you," May said gazing into his emerald eyes. Drew didn't reply, he just stared back into her sapphire eyes.

* * *

Dawn and Paul had their moments too. The second they arrived at the dance, Dawn said to him, "Paul, go get me some punch." He glared at her and reluctantly did so.

When they slow danced Paul kept enough distance between them to leave room for the Holy Spirit, but Dawn wouldn't allow that. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck so tight, she was suffocating him. It also made Paul blush to have Dawn so close to him.

"D-Dawn, let go, you're choking me," He groaned with barely any breath in his voice. Dawn let go and realized something, "Hey! You called me Dawn! Not Berlitz!" She exclaimed with a smile on her face. Paul rolled his eyes.

* * *

The entire dance, Brendan was looking for May, not Leaf. Even though she wasn't there anymore, he just wanted to slow-dance with May. Ash was probably a bigger play-boy than Gary that night. Almost every single girl wanted to dance with him. Gary, was not jealous of Ash. All he had on his mind was Leaf, and actually looked for her.

Throughout each song, Nick was dancing with Tessa. But Tessa noticed Nick had been acting odd since he punched Gary. She thought he must have felt bad about it.

"Don't worry Nick," Tessa started with a sweet and reassuring smile on her face, "You did nothing wrong by trying to protect our friend." Nick smiled back at her as a thanks, but he wasn't protecting Leaf because she was their friend, no, he was protecting her because he loved Leaf.

* * *

Each couples' walk home was normal. Drew drove May home. Paul and Dawn walked back to her house where he dropped her off. Gary went home, Ash went home, and Brendan went home.

Nick and Tessa's walk was interesting. Tessa was gladly holding hands with Nick, and he didn't mind it. She was in complete ecstasy, it was the most perfect night of her life, well, it would have been if it wasn't so cloudy. It looked at though it was going to rain soon. Tessa risked it all this one time, and said something to Nick.

"Hey Nick," Tessa said stopping in front of him. "I-I've liked you since we were 8. No, I've loved you since we were 8." She sweetly said to him.

"Every year I grew to like you more, and now, you're this amazing and intelligent boy," Tessa continued. Nick's eyes widened in astonishment.

"You're kind and considerate too. Like how you protected Leaf back there. You're understanding, a little bit too funny sometimes, and heart-warming. I don't know why, but that's how I fell in love with you." She finished, and tears were on the brink of coming out her hazel eyes. Nick was speechless. You're telling him, after all this time, she was in love with him? Tessa?

"I don't know what to say-" Nick began, but soon was hushed by Tessa. She tip-toed on her ballet flats and lightly kissed him. He was taken aback, and when Tessa came back down to her height, he finally replied, "I'm sorry Tessa, I love Leaf."

His eyes fell to the floor, and Tessa sweetly smiled. Her eyes were closed and she was crying, "And that's alright, I just wanted you to know," She said to him, softly chuckling with the water going down her cheeks.

* * *

Leaf was by herself. She wanted to cry. Nick defended her from Gary who was trying to steal a kiss from her. She thought it was the most heroic thing a boy had ever done for her.

She was alone. She decided to take the long way home and that meant going through the forest. She started to feel sprinkles of water; rain was starting to fall. Her mind then went back to what happened earlier at that house. She wondered who the man was, who the woman was, and then, a sound came from a rustling bush, she sweat dropped. Then a voice came from behind her.

"You're not going to tell anyone about anything that happened earlier, and I will make sure of that," a male voice said. Leaf turned around and-

*BANG!*

A gunshot could be heard throughout the entire town.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

It had been one year. One year since Ash realized he had feelings for Tessa. One year since Dawn and Paul became a 'couple'. One year since May confessed her feelings to Drew. One year since Tessa confessed her feelings to Nick. One year since Nick turned Tessa down. And one year since Leaf was shot.

On that Autumn night, when Leaf was shot after the dance, it was raining. At 11:21 pm, an ambulance arrived on Juniper Lane, and put the body of a fifteen year old girl on a gurney. She was screaming bloody murder as the color maroon came out of her forearm profusely. She was lucky. Whoever shot her missed and ran away as fast as they could. The shot dislocated her left shoulder, since it was the left shoulder she was shot in.

Leaf never knew who shot her. The second she turned around the force of the bullet brought her down to the concrete ground. She had probably laid there in the soaking rain for seventeen minutes, while her arm leaked blood before the paramedics arrived. Leaf was hospitalized for three weeks, and of course questioned by the police what happened.

Ash and Mrs. Ketchum were shocked when they received the call. Leaf's group of friends were dumbfounded when they heard it. They couldn't believe it. And the person who immediately visited her was Nick. They all arrived as a group at Leaf's hospital room and May noticed something.

The woman, by the door, looked familiar. The woman, Ash's and Leaf's mom, was staring at May the entire time. Which made May feel more suspicious of the woman. May had never been to Ash's and Leaf's house, so naturally she never met Mrs. Ketchum.

But May couldn't put her finger on it, the woman just felt like she was important. May couldn't remember.

It wasn't until May turned 16 that things began to stir up. Leaf's shooter still hadn't been found and tensions were rising as the group went along through the year.

After Leaf was released from the hospital, she and Nick had grown a lot more closer. It was excruciating for Tessa to see, she still loved Nick. Ash took notice of Tessa hurting and wondered why she was feeling that way.

* * *

After a year, later in the Spring, the Berlitz family and the Ketchum family was having a small get-together. Dawn was allowed to invite May so she did.

May arrived at Dawn's house at 2:00, and she, Dawn, and Leaf made their way up to Dawn's room. Her room was soft pink and white everywhere you looked. Dawn was a die-hard girly girl. They all grabbed a throw pillow and sat down on the ground.

The conversation soon came to the guys. "So," Dawn started excitedly towards May, "What's been happening with Drew and Brendan lately?"

May sighed and replied, "Well, Brendan asked me out a few days ago, and then Drew _told_ me we _are_ going on a date on Friday. And I just don't like it when Brendan is all puppy-eyed, and Drew is so forceful."

"But didn't you tell Drew you loved him? Wouldn't you be happy he wants to go on dates with you?" Leaf asked confused.

"Kinda, but when there's also someone else who keeps asking me out, it gets really frustrating. So how have you been with Paul, Dawn?" May asked Dawn. Dawn blushed and shyly smiled.

"Well, since the dance last year, we've had a total of 10 dates."

"ONLY TEN DATES!?" Both Leaf and May yelled in utter shock. "What?" Dawn asked them in complete confusion.

"Dawn," May said putting a hand on her shoulder, "Ten dates it nothing! What the heck!? Is Paul a lost cause or something!"

Dawn's eyes widened, "NO! He's so sweet and adorable in his own way!"

"Yeah, in his own way," Leaf muttered under her breath. Silence soon came over them, and May and Dawn had grim faces. Leaf quickly noticed and exclaimed, "What?!"

"You and Nick," Dawn mumbled into the throw-pillow she was hugging in her lap. May stayed quiet and soon a look of guilt swept over Leaf's face. "I know. I'm a horrible person. Tessa's in love with him and I took advantage of Nick while I was in the hospital."

"Yeah you did. Tessa will never be able to live it down. It's literally killing her insides." Dawn bluntly said. May still remained quiet. Their entire day was awkward because of that conversation, and now it was dinner. Everyone was sitting at the table, May in between Dawn and Leaf because Dawn refused to sit next to someone who stole the love of Tessa's life. At the end of the table was Mrs. Berlitz and Mrs. Ketchum. They were talking as if they'd been old friends, and May's eyes were glued to Mrs. Ketchum the entire time.

After dinner Dawn exploded like usual.

"I hate you Leaf! How could you do that to Tessa?!" Dawn screeched at her.

Leaf's face turned hot pink from the fury and she yelled back, "What?! It's not like I was in control of it!"

"Yes you were! You, you, you dirty you know what!" Dawn screamed with her face growing redder. May was in the middle off to the sidelines watching. What was she going to do about these two? Dawn soon grabbed a throw-pillow off the couch and chucked it at Leaf. Leaf caught it and threw it back. It soon became a pillow throwing contest, and both girls were growing aggravated.

May finally became pissed enough to yell at them, "Ugh! Friends shouldn't be fighting like this!" May screeched and stomped away to Dawn's room and shut the door, making sure to lock it. Both Dawn and Leaf quieted down, and their heads hung down from upsetting May.

Mrs. Berlitz was unhappy with them. Dawn was grounded for picking a fight, and Leaf was grounded for fighting back. May was back in Dawn's room crying, she was so overwhelmed with two boys after her, and now Leaf and Dawn are fighting.

Mrs. Berlitz came to check on May and knocked on the door. "May?" Mrs. Berlitz asked outside the door, "Are you okay?"

May opened the door, tears rushing out her eyes. Mrs. Berlitz motioned her back to Dawn's bed and sat down next to her.

"Why are you crying so much? You're almost a woman now. You're sixteen, what could be bothering you?" Mrs. Berlitz asked her soothingly.

May sniffled, "Just so much, it's times like these where I really want parents!"

"Parents huh? I guess that still gets you down every now and then. You know, you're mother and I used to be very good friends," Mrs. Berlitz said to her. May rose her head and looked at Dawn's mother curiously.

"Really? What was my mother like?" May asked with a hint of pain in her voice.

"Oh well you're mother was gorgeous; she was kind, gentle, tempered, everything a mother should be, right?"

May nodded, then she said, "Where is she?"

"You know where your mother is, she's in a better place," Mrs. Berlitz said to her.

"No, where's my surrogate mother?" May questioned in a serious voice. Mrs. Berlitz just looked at her surprised.

* * *

"W-What are you talking about May? Surrogate mother? Haha, no, you don't have one. Caroline was your one and only mother!" Mrs. Berlitz laughed uneasily.

"No, don't lie to me. Like you said before, I'm a grown woman, tell me where and who she is." May demanded.

Mrs. Berlitz sighed, and thought, '_I'm sorry Caroline, I'm breaking the promise you made me make.'_

"I have one word for you, May: Delia." Mrs. Berlitz said that, stood up, and walked out of the room. As Mrs. Berlitz closed the door and walked down the hallway, Mrs. Ketchum was standing at the end, and a look of concern swept across her face. Mrs. Berlitz looked at her, "I told her," Mrs. Berlitz said to Mrs. Ketchum.

Mrs. Ketchum immediately walked up the hallway, and opened Dawn's bedroom door, only to hold vacancy, and Dawn's window wide open…

Mrs. Berlitz's words still rang in May's mind. May was confused, who was Delia? The name sounded so familiar. May hopped out of Dawn's bedroom window and headed for the garden. It was 7:00 pm and getting dark.

May sighed openly to herself and kept thinking. _'Delia, Caroline, Norman, Johanna; who are all these people? Norman Maple, he's supposedly my father, and used to be the mayor of Maplewood. Caroline Maple, she's apparently my mother - who was married to Norman, my father. Johanna Berlitz, Dawn's mom, and she said she used to be good friends with my mother. And Delia, who is she? I don't remember a last name. But I vaguely remember, remember a woman I used to call Delia when I was younger.'_

May kept on thinking, then she was struck by lightning. _'Now I remember! I remember what happened September 5th. When I was only four and my parents were murdered...'_

* * *

On September fifth, on May Madison Maple's fourth birthday; her parents were killed, and her life was slandered and ruined.

"Hi Delia, I'm so happy you're here!" Caroline exclaimed with a smile on her face, opening the front door.

"Of course I'm here! There isn't anything in the world besides May's birthday that I wouldn't miss!" Delia said walking into the foyer. "Now, where is the birthday girl?" Delia asked.

"She's in the kitchen at the table waiting for you to arrive so we can light the candles on the cake. Johanna is here too," Caroline said to her. Both young ladies opened the kitchen door to reveal an eager three-year old who was staring over a brown chocolate cake, and Johanna telling May to wait. "May, Delia's here now," Caroline sang to her trying to get her attention.

"Good. Nows' we can cuts the cake." The child replied, still peering over the dessert.

"Hold the phone," Caroline started, "No birthday is a birthday without ice cream to go with the cake, am I right?" She then called Norman and told him to go buy ice cream. He sighed and walked out the front door. Norman opened the garage and- *BANG* Caroline, Delia, Johanna, and May were startled by the sound of a gunshot. Then they heard a second gunshot. Suddenly, the lights and the power went off.

May started crying and Caroline started screaming as if she was being taken away. And then, and then, and then, and then May woke up.

* * *

May woke up, to find herself in her bed of the apartment she stayed at. Wiping sweat off of her forehead, she could have sworn she accidentally fell asleep in the rose garden the night before. She then smelt the aroma of cinnamon waffles in the air and followed it. In her little kitchen on the table, was a plate of waffles, and rose with a note next to it.

* * *

_I found you asleep in the garden last night. Take better care of yourself._

_-Drew_

* * *

May smiled at the note and happily sat down only to inhale the waffles on contact. "I can't believe he only made me two waffles! I could have eaten eleven!" She grumbled out loud to herself, as she put on her shoes and headed out. Where was May going exactly? To find out who Delia was.

May marched right up to the mayor's office, went straight through the secretary, and opened the mayor's office door. She was so focused to get the truth she walked right up to Mr. Birch without noticing he had a silver pistol in his hand. May stopped, then she realized he was cleaning the gun rather than shooting it. She soon stared at the gun, it was flawless, and Mr. Birch looked up at her as she gazed at it.

"What can I help you with Ms. Maple?" He said abruptly putting his pistol away. May snapped out of it, and the determined face she had before on her face reappeared. "Who is Delia," She asked severely. Mr. Birch looked surprised at first, but regained his usual lax composure. "Well, there is Delia Ketchum, who moved here six years ago with her children," He answered.

"Delia Ketchum," May said out loud under her breath. She then nodded and left the mayor's office, only to start running to Leaf's house. May knocked hard and loudly on the door and a surprised Mrs. Ketchum opened it.

"Well May, Leaf's not awake yet, but I can-"

"Stop. Tell me the truth, who are you, and are you my surrogate mother?" May had cut Mrs. Ketchum off and wanted to know the truth for once in her life. Mrs. Ketchum openly sighed and motioned May towards the porch bench. They sat down, and there, Delia explained everything.

"It's true, I'm your surrogate mother. And… I was there the night your parents were murdered." May knew that, but what happened after the lights went out? "Should I explain what happened that night?" Delia asked.

May nodded, "Yeah, but tell me this; why did you leave? Where did you go?"

"Where did I go? Well, if I explain the night your parents were killed, maybe you'll understand."

May nodded again, and let Delia proceed.

* * *

**Delia Ketchum's POV on May's Fourth Birthday**

September fifth was May's fourth birthday. I can't believe it was four years since I gave birth to her. I head to the Maple's house and Caroline opens the door. They were waiting for me. Johanna is here too. It really is nice to be around good old friends. Caroline and I open the kitchen door and see Johanna and May. We're about to cut the cake when Caroline stops us and sends Norman out to buy ice cream.

He heads out and we soon hear a gun set off, then set off again. The power goes out and Caroline starts screaming while I hear her being dragged away. Johanna is following Caroline's screaming while I grab May, whose crying. The second I grab May, I run downstairs to the basement, and hide May in a secret panic room underneath the basement stairs. I run back upstairs to find everywhere deserted, and the front door open.

I quickly head out, and see Johanna running around the forest in the backyard frantically. She stops and runs towards me. "Delia! Caroline's been taken! I can't find her anywhere!" Johanna screamed worriedly at me. I start to panic myself and start searching with Johanna, hoping no one is still left at the house looking for May.

We hurry deeper into the forest, and start to hear muffled cries and screams - without a doubt, they were Caroline's. We finally come to an enclosed area where trees are all around, and the body of Caroline Maple in the middle of the area lying in a pool of blood. She's panting, and is starting to choke on the blood that's coming up. Johanna and I slowly walk towards her, and she smiles at us.

She smiles at us? She's crying at the same time. Just by looking at her, I could tell she was stabbed more than five times in the chest. "D-Delia, I want to tell you something," She said to me quietly. I nodded.

"Promise me, you will always love May as if she was you're real daughter, even though she wasn't." Caroline told me, as she coughed up more blood.

"And Johanna," She started as she turned her head slightly to the side looking at her, "Promise me, that you'll never tell May she has a surrogate mother, and that you'll always protect her."

Johanna nodded. Tears slowly started to fog up both of our vision, and soon - our best friend, died with a smile on her face. Johanna and I started back to the house, and opened the garage to another dear friend of ours: dead. Norman was lying in a pool of blood, his torso had been shot twice. He looked like he suffered a painful death, because his face was bruised too.

It was too hard for Johanna and I to look at. Grim, tear-filled faces was what May was going to receive on her birthday. How could we tell the most gentle, and perky child in the world, that her parents were murdered.

We open the panic room door to find May curled up into a ball, shaking and crying. She slowly glances up at us, "Where's mommy and daddy?" She asked petrified, but the shaking started once more.

I kneel down to her, and hug her. "Mommy went to a beautiful rose garden, and Daddy went with her," I said soothingly to her.

"W-Will mommy and daddy ever come back?" She asked me. "Someday. Someday you'll be with them when you're a really, really big girl, okay?" I replied to her with so much hurt in my voice.

After the funeral, I left Maplewood. I wanted to forget so much. Forget May, Caroline, Norman, and Johanna. I would never turn back.

* * *

***PRESENT***

"So, you left because you couldn't handle it?" May asked Delia as finished explaining what had happened. Delia nodded and clenched her fist.

"You have to know May. I regretted it everyday." She replied with a tear of pain trickling down.

"I forgive you, but one thing rattles my mind. Where was Leaf and Ash when this happened?" May asked with a look of hard confusion on her face.

"Leaf and Ash, they're adopted…."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

"Leaf and Ash are adopted?!" May asked flabbergasted.

Delia nodded, "After I left Maplewood I wanted to forget and start over. So I adopted two fraternal twins. A boy, who I named Ash because of his black charcoal hair, and a girl, who I named Leaf, in remembrance of your mother, who took her last breath in the forest."

Everything was silent. Then the silence broke when a groggy teenage boy came outside looking for his mother. "Mom," Ash groaned rubbing his eye, "Make me some pancakes…"

May's face dropped at Ash's typicality. Ash didn't even bother to look up and notice May was there until about after six minutes. "Oh hey May," Ash said in a happier tone after he noticed her. Delia rolled her eyes and stood up. "Well May, you got your answer, I just want you to know that I regret never keeping the promise." She said walking back into the house.

"What promise?" Ash asked all bug-eyed. May sighed again, and walked away, leaving Ash with his question. While she was walking away, a thought occurred to her. Maybe the person who shot Leaf was the same person who killed May's parents? And if so, why did they kill her parents?

* * *

Behind the scenes, many things were happening to Dawn. She and Paul were dating now, and she was happy about it, but she was certain Paul was hiding something from her. She decided she would get to the bottom of it!

"Confess Paul Shinji!" Dawn yelled at him while she was on top of him. She caught him by surprise and pinned him to the ground with her foot holding him down.

"Confess what?!" Paul exasperated on the ground.

"Confess why you've been acting so strange lately!"

Paul's face turned grim from hearing Dawn's last sentence. He grabbed her leg, pushed it off, and walked away. Making Dawn even more suspicious. The next day, Dawn headed to Paul's house. Reggie gladly opened the door to her, "Hi Dawn!" He greeted her.

"Hi Reggie, where's Paul?" Dawn asked. Reggie's face went grim and serious, and it made her worry. She had a gut feeling something was wrong, and Paul didn't want to tell her about it. "Reggie, where is Paul?" Dawn asked again with concern in her voice.

"He's gone to the train station," Reggie sternly replied. Dawn's heart leaped, what was Paul doing at the train station?! She left Reggie at his front door and ran to the train station. Frantically looking around for him, she found his purple head in the crowd. She ran up to him only… To see him in uniform?

"Paul… What are you wearing?" She asked as her trembling hand touched the nylon and cotton blend uniform. Paul turned around to face her, "I'm joining the Navy," Paul cheerlessly replied. His train pulled up, and Dawn was petrified. Tears quickly welled up in her eyes, and jolted down her shocked face.

"The… Navy…?" Dawn slowly said as she tried to process what her body was reacting to, but not her brain. Paul climbed onto the train, and before the doors closed, Dawn's last glimpse of him; was he said to her, "Bye Berlitz."

Dawn didn't say anything. She couldn't. After all, Paul was just seventeen, and she was just sixteen. Why did he leave? Would he ever come back? Why didn't he say anything to her? And, he just called her Berlitz? Not Dawn? _'What just happened?'_ is was Dawn was thinking.

* * *

The night Paul left was devastating for the group, but it was about to become even more depressing when Drew told May something.

May met up with Drew at the rose garden, another beautiful full moon that night. "Drew, what did you call me here for?" May asked him. Drew remained silent, but then said, "May, can we just sit here for a while?"

May nodded. They sat there in utter silence for a hour, but then Drew finally spoke. "May, how do you think Dawn feels about Paul leaving?"

May sighed, "Well, I can tell one thing: Paul was Dawn's everything. And if I knew that someone I would have loved for my entire life left without warning, I would die from depression."

Drew nodded. "Then how would you feel about me leaving you?" Drew asked.

May's eyebrows furrowed at his question, "Drew, where are you going with this?"

Drew peered straight into May's eyes, and she peered right back into his. "May, I love you," Drew said in a serious voice. May swallowed hard, and replied, "Why are you saying this now?"

Drew looked away from May, "I'm moving."

May's heart stopped. She now knew what Dawn was feeling. But she didn't cry. There was no guarantee about seeing Paul again for Dawn, but Drew was just moving. She would see him again, right?

"And May," Drew started, "I might never come back."

* * *

Drew left. May just stood there as she watched him and his family drive away. What was she going to do now? Day after day passed, May waited for a letter from Drew, she never received one. May may have been in a rut, but she was not as depressed as Dawn.

* * *

Dawn stopped eating, and she stopped coming to school when Fall came. Mrs. Berlitz didn't seem to try and do anything about it, but one person was very concerned.

"Snap out of it, Dawn!" Tessa screamed at her. Dawn barely left her room, whenever anyone saw her, she would just sit at the windowsill in her bedroom; lifeless. Tessa couldn't take how Dawn had been acting since Paul left, and that was two months ago! Tessa was becoming thoroughly upset that one of her closest friends was this disturbed. Dawn was always the cheery one; the one who could brighten your day, and always take a good joke.

Now, it seemed like she acted as if she had nothing to live for. "I said snap out of it!" Tessa screamed at her again. This time, Tessa's hand found her way across Dawn's emotionless face. Dawn, unfazed by the slap, replied, "Oh come on Tess, Paul's gone, just leave me alone…"

"Leave you alone!? I will not leave you alone when you act so depressed over one guy!" Tessa yelled back at her.

Dawn actually started to show emotion after Tessa said that, "One guy!? Speak for yourself! I bet you're still moping about Nick!"

At Dawn's remark, Tessa actually showed a small sign of quivering, "Fine then," Tessa started as she walked out of Dawn's bedroom door, "But do know, that I am over Nick. Yeah, he may not be gone like Paul, but I still can't have him. I'm not going to waste my life thinking about him, I intend to live my life. Paul may have been your everything, Nick was mine, but that doesn't mean the stupidity of two boys should rule both of our lives."

Having said that; Tessa left, leaving Dawn speechless. Would she keep getting herself down about Paul? Or move on, considering the possibility that Paul would never come back for her?

* * *

Tessa was not happy. She wasn't having too good of a life since confessing to Nick. First, Nick is snatched up by Leaf, one of her closest friends. Second, her dog M&M died. Third, Paul leaves Dawn. And fourth, Drew leaves May. Her world is practically falling around her.

"Hey Tessa!" Ash said to her with a cheery smile.

"Oh hey Ash," Tessa replied acknowledging his presence.

"Do you want to go on a date sometime?" Ash asked her.

Tessa's eyes shot open, "What?"

* * *

May wasn't particularly depressed. She kept a strong face for her friends, especially since Dawn was so affected by Paul leaving. But it did hurt inside. The one person who made her feel different from everyone else was gone. She liked the feeling she got when she was around him. Now, she wouldn't feel it anymore.

So as far as Brendan could tell, she was single. He was going to make his move.

May was down for the count. One night, the emotions got to her. She was sitting in her tiny living room watching romance dramas. She missed Drew so much, she felt like she was going to throw-up. She was about to have a fit of tears when she suddenly heard a knock on her door.

She stood up, all her emotions about to pour out, and she opened the door. Her eyes suddenly beheld Brendan, who was dressed in a white suit. The kindest smile was on his face and it got May. Tears started flowing and she dropped to the floor on her knees. Brendan was surprised by what was happening and went on his knees to face her.

"May what's wrong?" Brendan asked her, obviously concerned. May was still sobbing, "So me asking you out on a date brings you to tears?" He asked her.

May sobbed more, "No, it's just, I'm sick of being left and alone!" She screamed as more tears went down. Her father and mother were gone, so was Drew now, she couldn't hold the emotions in any longer. Brendan swallowed hard, and grabbed May, pulling her into an embrace.

"I won't leave you. I won't. I promise." Brendan said in a serious tone, hugging May tighter. May stopped crying for an instant, and then said to him, "You won't?"

"I won't. May, I will always stay by your side," He said pulling her back to face him. He then resumed speaking, "May, I love you, will you go out with me?"


End file.
